Phang-nga:is supposted to have come from "Muang Phu-nga"named after Nga mountain (or Phang-nga Mountian), which is situated in Phang-nga Town.

"Muang Phu-nga" was under the administration of the government in Nakorn Sri Thammarat. During the reign of Rama II, the name "Phu-nga"was found in records of government officials in Nakorn Sri Thammarat, showing that "Phu-nga"must have been a town under the Left Surasawadee Department. It is also thought that "Phu-nga" was named so in order to rhyme with "Phuket"

The change in the pronunciation of "Phu-nga" to "Phang-nga" is thought to have resulted from the confusion of foreign tin buyers with the way it was written and the way it was pronounced. The foreign tin buyers spelled it "Phunga", which could be read as "Phu-nga", "Phang-nga", or "Phang-ga"

Location:
Phang-nga has an area of 4,170.895 sq.km., a large part of which is forests. Phang-nga has 118 islands. It's boundaries are as follows:

North: Connects with Ranong and Surat Thani.

East: Connects with Surat Thani and Krabi.

South: Connects with Phuket and the Andaman sea.

West: Connects with the Andaman sea.

Government:
Phang-nga is divided into 8 districts, which are Muang, Kuraburi, Thap-put, Ka-pong, Thakua-thung, Thakua-pa, Thai-muang, and Koh Yao. The total population of Phang-nga was 235,217 as of December 31, 2000

How to get there:

By Car:
From Bangkok, take route 4, passing Prachuab Kiri Khan, Chumporn, and Ranong. The total distance is 788 kms, which can be covered in approximately 12 hours.